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News & Events for Health Empowerment // April 10, 2024
MORE PLANTS, LESS PRESCRIPTIONS
Over the past century, so much has changed — drive-throughs, smartphones, hairstyles, air travel. But one thing that hasn’t seen enough change is diabetes care. Most doctors still tell their patients to count carbs, and they prescribe a variety of drugs and insulin to help people “manage” diabetes.
But we can do better than managing diabetes: We can reverse it. Not everyone can achieve full “remission,” as healthcare professionals now like to say, but many people can reduce if not eliminate medications, dramatically improve their quality of life, and enjoy plenty of healthy carbs — yes, through a whole food, plant-based lifestyle.
One woman with diabetes came into our Fall 2023 Jumpstart program looking for a lifeline. She was on many medications for both diabetes and hypertension. Her peer mentor reports, “She told her doctor she was starting this program, and he tried to dissuade her, as he said it would mess with her treatment schedule.”
But just a few weeks ago, we heard from her, four months later: She’s down 40 pounds and counting. She’s off all of her diabetes meds and insulin. Her hemoglobin A1c, a marker of diabetes, dropped from 8.6 mg/dL to 6.9 — getting closer to the 6.7 threshold for prediabetes. And she’s taking a lower dose of blood pressure meds.
This isn’t managing diabetes. This is reversing. Her sentiment? “I wish I knew all this information sooner.” At PPMNY, we believe it’s everyone’s right to know.
If you’re a healthcare professional, community health advocate, diabetes patient or caregiver, or interested community member, please consider joining Plant Powered Metro New York next month at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s day-long conference on diabetes and prediabetes. Presentations and panels will cover the lifestyle behaviors — like nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, and social support — that can make a huge difference in reducing the prevalence of diabetes in our communities.
Lifestyle Interventions for Optimal Outcomes in Diabetes and Prediabetes Friday, May 10, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM SUNY Downstate Alumni Auditorium, 395 Lenox Road – Flatbush, Brooklyn Keynote Speaker: Beth Frates, MD, President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine $44 registration for the general public, includes breakfast and lunch Register here
Despite a (very) rainy evening, every “root” of our community came together to share good food, music, and quality time with each other at our 5th anniversary celebration. Among the crowd were doctors from our medical network, Lifestyle Mentors, Food for Life instructors, staff, volunteers, and many friends, family members, and colleagues of our honorees, Jim Spellos and the founding clinicians of Bellevue Hospital’s Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program.
Rachel Atcheson from the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy also joined us to deliver a citation from Mayor Eric Adams, which reads, “On the occasion of its 5th anniversary, I am pleased to shine a spotlight on Plant Powered Metro New York, a group that has engaged with the importance of our everyday eating habits and dedicated itself to helping others enhance this relationship…. For New York to be the most healthful city in the nation, we must support comprehensive efforts like these that attempt to address the root cause of chronic illness and disease…. I am pleased to commend this proud organization for its commitment to compassionate care and patient-centered programming.”
View highlights from the evening below.
Thanks to everyone who made this magical night possible!
If you weren’t able to join us — and want to help our roots grow over the next five years — support PPMNY by giving online here.
Living a whole food, plant-based lifestyle is a movement, and the Food Revolution Network is taking the message global with their virtual 2024 Food Revolution Summit Docuseries. With a food system that is making billions of people sick, leading to trillions of dollars “sick care” costs, we agree that now is the time for a revolution!
During the summit, you’ll hear from 45 of the world’s most respected food and health experts — including New York Times best-selling authors, doctors, surgeons, scientific researchers, weight loss experts, and PPMNY’s Network Director, Lianna Levine Reisner.
Access to the 2024 Food Revolution Summit is free, but any purchases you make at the link above will support PPMNY as an affiliate.
Spring Into Health! Thursdays, April 4 - 18, 6:00 PM Presented by the Queens Public Library South Hollis Branch, 204-01 Hollis Avenue Free and open to the public — no registration required Tomorrow! April 11: Food for Life: Plant Powered Nutrition for Heart Health
How Not to Age with Michael Greger, MD Wednesday, May 15, 6:30 - 9:30 PM – Princeton, NJ Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road Featuring Michael Greger, MD $15 entrance fee – register here
Check out more events coming up this spring:
Our “Spring Into Health” series at the South Hollis branch of the Queens Public Library kicked off last Thursday, featuring a screening of the documentary Healing Through Food. Afterwards, library patronstook part in a talkback facilitated by Jim Spellos and Enrica Sacca of PPMNY with health coach and cookbook author, Karla Salinari.
Last week, PPMNY presented a special webinar with new partners Planted Society and Humane Montclair as they launched a month-long plant-based dining initiative in New Jersey, Plant Based for the Planet. NYU professor Gia Merlo, MD, a PPMNY Board Member, shared how plant based nutrition can nurture human health and the planet.
We’re two sessions into our Food for Life series at PS 59 in Bed-Stuy. Parents and staff members are learning how to substitute ingredients, incorporate beans into recipes, and create healthy snacks for kids. Each class is followed by a free plant-based dinner presented by our partners from the Coalition for Healthy School Food.
That’s a wrap! Our “Roots Live!” mini cooking demo series in March gave everyone the chance to discover new whole plant recipes online. Check out all four fast, easy recipes on YouTube or download our PDF collectionwith ingredients and cooking instructions.
Plant-based nutrition has gone citywide in NYC hospitals! NYC Health + Hospitals recently announced that its Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program is now available at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. This latest launch completes Health + Hospitals plan to offer the program in 7 of their 11 locations, covering all five boroughs. Initiated in 2019, the program teaches patients how to treat their chronic conditions through dietary and lifestyle modifications. Learn more
Our mailing address: Plant Powered Metro New York, PO Box 20771, New York NY 10025
Plant Powered Metro New York empowers people to find better health and overcome chronic disease through whole food, plant-based nutrition. We offer evidence-based education, resources, and support to create community and inspire change throughout the New York metropolitan area.
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